If you’ve never attempted to fix your own car, television, or mobile phone, it doesn’t really make sense to get your DIY handyman career started with computer repairs. Considering how much money most people invest in buying a computer, it’s not something you want to mess around with.

There are a billion tutorials available for your perusal on the web, but as a general rule they are useless at best, counter-productive at worst. You’ll probably also need a packet of Nurofen close at hand if you choose to go down this particular route.

Computer geeks are almost universally guilty of the same crime: failing to appreciate that their area of expertise is not yours. There are many computer repair guys out there in blogger land, telling you why you’re an idiot for not knowing how to fix your own computer or prevent it from getting into strife in the first place. Ignore them. You might be a nurse, a lawyer, or a dairy farmer – all jobs that your standard repairmen would be ill equipped to carry out. Their job is to know about computers, and resolve any problems that might arise. Don’t feel incompetent just because you’re not confident carrying out your own computer repairs.

The main thing that can go wrong when you try to fix your own computer is the potential for irreversible psychiatric trauma. Hospital wards are brimming with victims of botched DIY computer repairs (not true. But you never want to be within throwing range of someone in the midst of trying to fix their own computer) If you have no idea where the problem with your computer originates, you’re going to have an almost impossible task at hand. Ditto for when you are receiving repeated error messages that you are unable to decipher. Even for very experienced computer repair people, locating the source of a problem can take a lot of detective work. Tip: being honest with your repairmen about your internet browsing history can save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

If getting your computer back to rude good health in a timely fashion is important to you, it’s always best to enlist the help of a professional.